The Name Structure of Messiah Jesus, son of Mary

Ahmad Ammar Azmi · Post by **Ahmad Ammar Azmi** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 6:05 pm

The Name Structure of Messiah Jesus, son of Mary.

Traditionally real children are named after their father's name; even it is ordered (33:5) that "Name your adopted children after their fathers".

33:5 Name your adopted children after their fathers; that is more just in the Sight of Allah. And if you do not know who their fathers were, then they are your brothers, sisters and friends in Faith. (You shall treat them as family members). There is no blame on you for an unintentional mistake. What counts is the intention of your hearts, for Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

How is it possible to name Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, after his mother’s name?

One traditional answer to this question is that father was not present, i.e., virgin birth.

But it is not correct.

Correct answer is that "Ibn Mary" is used as “Kuniat”, not for "son of Mary", in the following verses.

3:45 Angels said, “O Mary! Allah gives you the good news through a word from Him. His name would be Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, held in honor in this world and among the ones close to Me in the Hereafter.

4:157 And for claiming, “We killed the Messiah Jesus son of Mary, Allah’s Messenger.” They never killed him and never crucified him. But it appeared so to them and the matter remained dubious to them. Those who hold conflicting views on this issue are indeed confused. They have no real knowledge but they are following mere conjecture. Very certainly, they never killed him.

4:171 O People of the Scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion. Say nothing about God except the truth. The Messiah Jesus son of Mary was a Messenger of Allah, the fulfillment of His Word to Mary, created according to the Laws of Creation and given free will from the Divine Energy (like all human beings 15:29, 32:7-9, 38:72). Believe in Allah and His Messengers, and say not: “Three". Cease! It is for your own good. God is but One God. Far removed it is from His Supreme Majesty that He should have a son. Everything in the Highs and everything in the Lows belongs to Him. He is the Self-Sufficient Sustainer of the Universe (2:255).

Arnold Yasin Mol · Post by **Arnold Yasin Mol** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 6:52 pm

Salaam Aleikum dear Ahmad,

Jesus is called by his father's name, as he is called Messiah. In Jewish terminology, only people descending from Prophet David can be called Messiah. Jesus's mother didn't descend from David, but from the Priest family of Aaron/Harun. Joseph, the father of Jesus, as directly given in the Bible, does descend from David, and thus gives Jesus the right to call himself Messiah. So by calling Jesus Messiah, Allah is directly refering to Jesus having a father that descended from David.

Ahmad Ammar Azmi · Post by **Ahmad Ammar Azmi** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 3:13 am

AA!

Pleasant feedback!

Thanks!

Brian aka Reverted1 · Post by **Brian aka Reverted1** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 3:53 pm

As a Muslim I obviously take exception to Christians worshipping a man, but what baffles me is how few Christians know the given name of the man they worship. The name "Jesus" is an Anglicization of the Greek Iesous, itself believed to be a transliteration of the Hebrew Yehoshua or Aramaic Yeshua, meaning "YHWH is salvation. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus).

According to most critical historians, Jesus probably lived in Galilee for most of his life and he probably spoke Aramaic and Hebrew. The name "Jesus" is an English transliteration of the Latin (Iēsus) which in turn comes from the Greek name Iesous (Ιησους). The name has also been translated into English as "Joshua".[33] Since most scholars hold that Jesus was an Aramaic-speaking Jew living in Galilee around 30 AD/CE, it is highly improbable that he had a Greek personal name. Further examination of the Septuagint finds that the Greek, in turn, is a transliteration of the Hebrew/Aramaic Yeshua (ישוע) (Yeshua - he will save) a contraction of Hebrew name Yehoshua (יהושוע Yeho - Yahweh [is] shua` - help/salvation, usually Romanized as Joshua). As a result, scholars believe that one of these was most likely the name that Jesus was known by during his lifetime by his peers. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus)

I am interesed in hearing forum members opinions on whether we, as promoters of truth concerning Islam and Its Prophets, should refer to Isa ibn Maryam by a name ("Jesus") given to him by the people (Romans) who persecuted him and distorted his Divine Message. Or, should we refer to him by the name (Isa) given to him by his parents, just as Allah does in Qur'an. I understand that using the name "Jesus" creates a bridge to dialouge with Christians, but Isa ibn Maryam most likely never answered to this name and use of this name contributes to the misinformation concerning his life and identity.

Salaam,

Brian

Arnold Yasin Mol · Post by **Arnold Yasin Mol** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 4:14 pm

Salaam Aleikum dear Brian,

I understand your pledge, and it is certainly important for Christians to understand the real meaning of the name Jesus. But is this really a big issue? I'm called Arnold by my parents. The name Arnold is derived from old high-german and is Arn-Walt. Arn is eagle and Walt means power or strength. So you can translate Arnold with 'he who has the strength and ability of an eagle'. Well, I do not claim this :D but I like the meaning. The question now is, to which do I respond. Indeed it would be Arnold. But if I went to Germany, and people started calling me Arn-Walt, I wouldn't mind.

When it comes to Jesus, I also believe he will not mind being called Jesus or Yoshua or Isa. Because these names in itself don't say much. Jesus and Isa are both extracts from the Hebrew/Aramaic Yoshua, and in reality are thus referring to the same meaning. That people revere their version of Jesus is their problem. If people in Germany suddenly started worshipping me under the name Arn-Walt, I wouldn't care if they would call me Arnold or Arn-Walt, as this is not the reason for worship. It is their picture of me which they worship.

And to brake that picture, I must show that Arn-Walt, the idol they revere has no power. If I start claiming Arnold has no power, it is harder in their mind to destroy their image of the idol, as they must link it every time to Arn-Walt. So what we can do is using both names when we adress Christians. We can say: Jesus, which is Latin for Yoshua 'YHWH is salvation'.

If you want to brake their idols, you must adress them by using their idols title, and must reform their image.

And no, people don't worship me in Germany :D

Ahmad Ammar Azmi · Post by **Ahmad Ammar Azmi** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 6:04 pm

Translate “Messiah Jesus, son of Mary” as “Messiah Jesus, Ibn Mary”

So it is better to call & translate “Messiah Jesus, Ibn Mary” instead of “Messiah Jesus, son of Mary”.